Art on the move
Sir: James Hamilton's article on touring exhibitions (Arts, 1 February) gives a some- what misleading picture.
My announcement of 6 January made no attempt to mask the fact that the Museums and Galleries Commission's Travelling Exhibition Unit is to end in its current form. The press notice put on record the different decisions I took on Richard Wild- ing's review of a number of MGC func- tions.
The Wilding review recorded that the Travelling Exhibition Unit was widely recognised as not fulfilling its goals and needed to be restructured. In light of this, I wrote to the MGC asking them to see how best touring needs could be met in a more efficient and dynamic way, within their annual total grant, which is £8.5 million. The MGC decides itself how to allocate resources, given different priorities, and it is now considering alternative methods of providing this service.
I shall consider their proposals when I receive them.
It is wrong to say that this Unit is the only effective channel for loaning exhibits up and down the country. National museums funded by my department extensively con- tribute to travelling exhibitions both finan- cially and with loans. Equally, Area Muse- um Councils play their part in giving advice to regional museums. This Government remains very keen on loans and travelling
LETTERS
exhibitions and I will try to ensure that they remain a central part of a museum's activi- ties.
Tim Renton
Office of Arts and Libraries, Horse Guards Road, London SW1
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